No Blog is an Island – 7.1.11

07.01.2011

Independent links!

Jake Meador just got married, and he used to occasion to repost an item he wrote a year ago about the bliss of getting married and the reality that sometimes, even in a broken world, things really are that good. This weekend I’m honored to have a role in the wedding of my good friend and college roommate, Brandon, so this seemed as appropriate a time as ever to link to this item.

I got to stand next to Matt and watch as Ashley walked down the aisle. It was the first time I’ve seen tears in his eyes. I got to see Ashley’s face as Matt made his vows to her and I got to stand close enough to hear her barely-audible voice make the same vows to him. And I got to be one of the first people to greet them in the foyer and see the looks of relief on both their faces. (Both of them asked us to poke them multiple times at the reception to make sure they weren’t dreaming.) Like I said, sometimes there’s nothing behind the curtain. The wizard is there in plain sight, daring you to believe.

Michael Patton provides two great primers. In one, he lists the various ways we understand the dilemma of an omnipotent, all-loving God who allows evil to exist. In the other, he uses an example of a traffic ticket to illustrate how there can be variances between the Gospel accounts without invalidating any of them.

Trevin Wax has a great list of 30 things he asked the Lord on the occasion of his 30th birthday. Having turned 30 myself last month, I found these encouraging.

Disclaimer

I'm neither a scholar nor an authority on anything scriptural or theological. This blog is meant merely to record my reflections on and reactions to Bible study. I hope you find it encouraging, amusing, and intriguing, but apply salt liberally.